Health Promotion and Education

Office of Health Promotion and Education
Western ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5445 USA
(269) 387-3263

Sexual Health

photo of Sexual Health Peer Educators

 Sexual Health is a lifelong learning process. From self esteem to responsible sexual decision making, and consent to contraception and STI prevention; the Sexperts have you covered.

Let's talk about sex

Sex is subjective.

It’s important to make sure you are talking to your partner(s) about what kind of sex is the most comfortable.
The four different types of sex are:
  • Oral
  •  Anal
  •  Vaginal
  • Mutual Masturbation 

ABSTINENCE

Abstinence is the choice to NOT engage in sexual behaviors. Sometimes, folx choose to refrain from some sexual acts and not others. Other times, folx refrain from any sexual act all together.
 
The choice is yours to make and whatever you choose is great! There are a lot of reasons a person might choose to be abstinent.
Some of those may be:
  • Religious reasons
  • They aren’t interested in sex
  • They aren’t ready to have sex
  •  â€¦ and many more!
Abstinence is actually more common than folx might think. As of 2019, an average of 20.5% of WMU students were not engaging in sex. 

CONSENT

Consent allows folx to be in charge of their own bodies, and make decisions freely and for themselves.
Consent is:
  • Enthusiastically and Freely given- all partners involved must agree to engaging in sexual activity free from coercion or force.
  • Active and Reciprocal - All partners involved in sexual activity must be willing to participate throughout. It is important to check in with your partner(s).
  • Revocable- If any partners involved in sexual activity no longer want to engage, they do not have to.
  • Not Unlimited- Just because someone engaged in sexual activities before, does not mean they have to do it again. Unsure? ASK.
  • Sober- According to ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ , a person who is intoxicated or incapacitated can NOT give consent. In addition, a person who is asleep can NOT give consent.
  • Verbal- Silence does not imply consent. A lack of response does not imply consent.

Yes means Yes.

How do we communicate consent?

  • It's important to know that everyone communicates differently.  That is why it's so important to be clear about you and your partner(s)' boundaries.
  • Ask yourself: Have I expressed what I want?  Do I know what my partner wants?  Am I certain consent has been given?
  • Sometimes giving options can make your partner(s) feel more comfortable being honest.  "Do you want to do this or would you like to stop?"